Vizquel exceeding Sox's expectations

Omar Vizquel continues to move up the career charts while playing much younger than a 43-year-old utility infielder.

"I hope they don't check his bat," manager Ozzie Guillen joked Thursday after the diminutive Vizquel hit a home run and added a squeeze bunt that vaulted the White Sox to a 3-0 victory over Detroit.

But more satisfying for Vizquel than passing Robby Alomar for 54th place on the all-time list with 2,724 hits was that his second at-bat was the 10,000 of his career.

"Everything in between was great," said Vizquel, referring to his first homer since Aug. 7, 2009 and his squeeze bunt that gave the Sox a 2-0 lead in the sixth.

Since taking over at third base for injured Mark Teahen, Vizquel has raised his batting average from .220 to .256 while providing stable defense.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Vizquel said he will miss the entire Cubs series to attend to a family matter in his native Venezuela. His contributions Thursday and his three-hit game Wednesday helped the Sox win consecutive games for the first time since May 21-22.

"I know the things I need to do," Vizquel said. "I know it's hard to come off the bench and play once or twice a week. It's hard to maintain your stroke at the plate. But I always believe in myself. I believe if I still get the playing time I can still be the player that I was when I played every day."